Step 5: Assemble Drive

Step 6: Polish and Enjoy!

Polish it up!

This is my very FIRST Instructable! I've enjoyed this site for a few years and decided to contribute.

Yesterday I was admiring the USB drives in the Steampunk section and decided to create my own. With a few hand tools, a couple hours and some creativity I created my own. This drive doesn't reflect steampunk but fits my personality. I enjoy simplicity, originality and shooting sports.

For this project I started with two brass empty rifle cartridges. The idea was to shape but not stretch these to the correct size of a USB drive. I chose a 25-06 (same size as 30-06 and .270) and a 300 Win Mag (same as 7mm Mag). Rifle cartridges taper so I knew if the diameters of the body were close the would slide together then stop.

refering to the third step where there is nothing to hold the drive in, i know of a fix for that...SUGRU!!!!! lol you might also try J.B. Weld, but i think that has metal properties to it, and might be detramental to your project... but...i would try sugru. Cool project, and thanks for sharing!!!

I repackaged a USB drive for a present for my wife this Christmas. When I opened up the original case, I found it the board was held in place with what appeared to be silicone, which seems like the perfect material for this purpose.

However, many varieties of Silicon (i.e., RTV) give off acetic acid (vinegar) when curing, which could cause corrosion long term. There are some types, variously named electronics grade or non-corrosive, which do not give off acetic acid. It's a bit more expensive than what you can find down at the hardware store, but there's no worry about getting the adhesive on the components. Just glob it on and stick the board in place!

About This Instructable

Bio:I love understanding how things work. I also take a lot of pride in creating things the lay person wouldn't recognize as homemade. I have a background in farming, construction, manufacturing, and no...read more »